Weaving spiders, come not here
by icclenomi
Summary: Post BoS. When The Babington Plot failed in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots left behind a great fortune that was kept safe by such men as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Francis Drake. Our heroes are sought out by an English girl Summary continued in story Ch 3 Up.
1. beginnings

Summary - Post BoS. When The Babington Plot failed in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots left behind a great fortune that was kept safe by such men as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Francis Drake. Our heroes are sought out by an English girl determined to put the treasure into museums and to keep the treasure away from a man bent on keeping it for himself . bad summary I know, but I tried.

My apologies in advance for any mistakes I make regarding how codes work, if I get some historical stuff wrong or misunderstood my research, I've at least tried to make this fic the least bit intellectual. The clues make sense to me… and I also apologize for the Latin, I'm not sure if I translated it right… and the first chapter or so is a bit talky…

"Weaving spiders, come not here;  
Hence, you longlegged spinners, hence!  
Beetles black approach not near;  
Worm nor snail, do no offence."  
- William Shakespeare

* * *

When asked what event it was that started of this adventure, your heroes, Gates and Poole, might say the seventh of January 2008. However, I know a girl who knows for a fact that what really set the ball rolling happened ten years before…

**Yorkshire, December 1997**

Melody was an energetic eight year old, wouldn't sit still for five minute. Her parents sometimes joked about putting her in a bull chase 'lets just see who'd win'. One thing you could say about her though is that she loved learning; her teachers found her a joy to teach. They forgave her hyperactivity on account of the enthusiasm and the fact that even though she seemed all over the room, she always had her work finished. Despite her cheery nature though, she had very few friends. Many of the kids in her class didn't get past her strange new accent. The Mizuno family had lived New York for a time and Melody, having learned to talk there had a rather different way of speaking than her classmates.

Melody approached her mother on Christmas Eve, and climbed onto a chair backwards so she was knelt, peering over the back at the mother.

"Mom."

"Melody…"

"Mom, you said that it was gonna be fun living here." Mrs. Mizuno put down her sewing and looked at Melody seriously.

"Are you not happy here, Sweet pea?"

"It's not that… well, this is our first Christmas in England, and… I don't know." Melody bit her lip. "Doesn't matter."

As Mrs. Mizuno watched her small daughter walk away she felt her heart breaking slightly, she had noticed a distinct lack of friends, but she'd hoped that Melody had been at least a little happy. She remembered suddenly of a treasure she had heard of, tucked away somewhere in England. She had told her husband about it on one of their first dates, and he'd laughed, thinking no more of it than a tall tale. But Melody needed something, and she loved to learn…

"Melody, come back here for a minute, I want to talk to you about something." The unmistakable sound of small feet padding quickly to the door was heard and Mrs. Mizuno resisted the urge to laugh as the girl slowed to a saunter.

"Yes?" She asked, appearing slightly nonchalant.

"Come here, I have a story for you." The girl's face was puzzled. "You'll like it, I swear."

She sat down on the floor with cross legs and looked up at her mother. That can't be good for her neck…

"I heard this when I went to University. It's a legend. Have you ever heard about the Babington Plot?" Small pigtails shook. "Well, I'll make this easier, The Tudors, I know I've told you about them."

"Divorced beheaded died, Divorced beheaded survived!" The child chorused. She had to laugh.

"Well, Elizabeth-"

"Anne Boleyn's daughter."

"Yes, Anne Boleyn's daughter-"

"Her mom had eleven fingers."

"Yes, I know, well Eliza-"

"Henry VIII was playing tennis when she had her head chopped off."

"Do you want to hear this?"

"Sorry, Mom."

"Well, there were some people who didn't want Elizabeth on the throne-"

"Because she was protestant."

"Melody… yes, because they wanted a Catholic Queen. Mary Queen of Scots was Catholic and she, with a lot of men, plotted to kill Elizabeth so that Mary could have the throne. One of these men was called Anthony Babington. Now, Elizabeth's men knew about this and so she had another man, called Francis Walsingham, intercept, urm… take the letter, read it, then pass it on to the plotters."

"Why didn't he just arrest them?"

"Because they wanted to find out all the names of the men so they could arrest all of them." A mouth formed a small 'oh'. "These letters were written in code, so Walsingham had to decode them first. I won't go into the theory of decoding things right now. Well, after a while, Walsingham had a P.S. added to one of Mary's letters in the code asking for the names of the conspirators."

"So they caught all the men?"

"Yes, but not because of the letter, Babington got it, but was arrested before he could reply."

"Oh…"

"Now here's the legend. There was a treasure, hidden from view, with which Mary had planned to give to Babington as a reward. It is hidden to this day, somewhere in Britain, and clues have been left behind, by such people as Shakespeare, Mary Queen of Scots, Francis Drake- many of the names of the time. Once the clues are followed they will lead to the location of the treasure."

"No one found it?"

"No one. We have a clue; let me see if I can find it…" Mrs. Mizuno stood up and reached for a folder on the bookcase. She opened the folder and showed her daughter the inside of the cover:

_torqueo in tergum Draconis,  
rotundus et exquisitus,  
abductat ut causa diffidis Titanae_

"It's Latin. Now, one day, when you're older, and have learned more about history, Latin, everything, you can ask me for this clue- and I have no doubt you will find the treasure."

"So to find it I have to know more?" The girl smiled and hugged her mother. "I'll find it."

**Washington D.C. January 2008**

Riley had been finishing another chapter of his second book when he received a phone call from a woman he didn't know. She said she had tracked him down because she had something she believed would be of use to him, and she had requested to meet him in a public place, so he had no worries about being abducted. So here he was, sitting in a pancake house overlooking a busy road. The door jingled and in walked a girl, no more than twenty, with a small satchel slung over her shoulder and a book in her hand. I'll be damned… my book… The girl walked over to his table and opened the book to the back cover-

"Yes, that is me." The girl smiled and held out her hand.

"Melody Mizuno."

"Riley Poole." She laughed and pulled out a notepad.

"Well, I wanted to meet you, first off to ask you about the treasures you found- the Templar Treasure and also… Cibola. It was you and Ben Gates who found them wasn't it?"

"Yes." Riley was puzzled for a moment, hadn't she said she had something for him?

"You had to follow a bunch of clues hidden in the country to find them didn't you?"

"Yes, what does –"

"There is a purpose, I swear. Did you work out the clues?"

"I worked out some of the clues…" The girl seemed to think for a moment before smiling.

"I don't know if you guys have had enough of this, but there's a treasure in England. One that's hidden by clues. I have one here somewhere…" She flipped through the pages of the notebook until she seemed to find what she had been looking for. "It was in Latin to start with, I have the Latin written here and my translation underneath-"

"You know Latin?" He asked as he took the book from her to look.

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 

A Riley hug to whoever can translate the clue before I post the next Chapter.


	2. greatness

Okay, update! Yay! (I warn you all that I may need some ideas for clues and English history, because I had ideas then forgot them and I don't know if the story will go anywhere good if I don't have some ideas…

First things first: thanks to my 2 reviewers! It's probably my translation, I haven't done latin since last June, and I usually translated FROM Latin rather than INTO Latin, and I also wasn't necessarily the best student, so that may be where your translations went wrong, thanks for trying anyway. Riley has at least seen you now, and is thinking about hugging you… I divulge.

TwilightxLove02- your translation was probably the closest… and

riley-poole27- your's was a bit better in the commas, I know what I mean… on with the story! You'll see the translation anyway!

"Be not afraid of greatness:  
some are born great,  
some achieve greatness,  
and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."  
-Twelfth Night (II, v, 156-159)

* * *

Riley Poole looked at the girl sat before him, she seemed very relaxed and at ease with herself upon first appearances, but he knew from experience, from the look she got in her eyes when he took the notebook from her that she was nervous. Hell, who wouldn't be? Here she was, sitting in front of a man who had millions of dollars to his name, who had already been involved in two treasure hunts- call them what Ben will, they were treasure hunts. She had no doubt been shot down many times with regards to this subject- she also got the same look in her eye when she talked about the treasure as he saw in Ben's eyes when he was pitching the first to him. That alone prompted Riley to consider her words as truth, but he would have to look at the clue first, ensure it seemed the slightest bit possible. 

He read the penciled writing:

_torqueo in tergum draconis,  
rotundus et exquisitus,  
abductat ut causa diffidis Titanae_

_Brand on the skin of the dragon,  
Round and (delicate/sought after),  
Leads to the cause of Titania's distrust._

She had circled "Titania" and he looked up at her.

"Verdict?" He noted the way her eyes almost pleaded with him, and the way she bit her lip and leaned forwards. She had him from the moment she handed him the book. He decided to choose his next words carefully, ensuring to give her a very serious look.

"I think I should call Ben." He grinned as her face exploded with happiness.

"You serious?" She laughed.

"Yup." He flipped open his phone and speed dialed 2.

**The Gates Mansion, January 2008**

Ben had been in the middle of a perfectly nice "discussion" about the realism of "The Patriot" when Riley called. He'd no doubt be inviting himself over for supper again…

"Hey, Riley."

"_Ben, you like history right?"_ eyes rolled.

"Yes Riley, I like history; you know this already I'm sure."

"_Well, there's someone here you should meet I think. Do you mind if I invite her over for supper?"_ Ben sighed, smiling.

"Is this another one of your dates?"

"_No, I swear to you Ben, you wanna hear what she has to say._"

"If you must. I'll let Abby know." He snapped his phone shut before Riley could say any more and heaved himself out of his… _very_ comfortable chair to find Abby.

* * *

Short I know, but I thought I'd give you the chance to think about what the clue could be before Ben the history man has a look- you're getting a head start!!! 


	3. Titania

Yay, I like reviews. Thanks!

Urm yeah, still not sure how well I'm actually doing with the whole clues thing, tell me if you think it's stupid- constructive criticism is the best…

Take my drum to England, hang et by the shore,  
Strike et when your powder's runnin' low;  
If the Dons sight Devon, I'll quit the port o' Heaven,  
An' drum them up the Channel as we drummed them long ago.  
-Sir Henry Newbolt:

* * *

Melody relaxed. Once she found Mr. Poole onboard she definitely relaxed. She pulled her coat off and pushed her hair behind her ear. 

"Thank you so much Mr. Poole, I mean I don't know how many girls you get tracking you down and asking for help like this but-"

"Yeah, that's a point… how did you track me down? After the close calls I had I thought I made myself pretty unfindable on the phone front…"

"You mean no one else called the number on the inside cover of the book where it says 'just call if you have any outstanding questions'?"

"Yeah. Didn't think they were going to put my actual number on there…" Riley suddenly gained an interest in the notebook once more. "So, you've circled "Titania"… who's Titania?"

"Ever read 'A midsummer night's dream'?" She didn't wait for an answer before she continued. "Well Titania is Oberon, who's the king of the fairies, she's his wife."

"You couldn't have just said 'Queen of fairies'?"

"I guess I could have… but you see that would have made sense... and I apparently don't… oh shut up Melody…" Melody could feel every ounce of blood filling up her cheeks as she pulled a laptop from her bag. "I've found that Titania may be in reference to Elizabeth the first of England-"

"But you just said she was queen of the fairies."

"But you see one of Elizabeth's kind of... nicknames if you will, was 'the faerie queen'- queen of fairies-faerie queen… I put it together. Plus, urm, the treasure is what Mary Queen of Scots was going to give to the conspirators of the Babington plot once they'd successfully assassinated Elizabeth- I'd say that would cause Elizabeth to be a little distrusting... I'm babbling again, I'm sorry. Jeez you've not met me for more than… half an hour already I'm... right." Melody clicked around on her laptop to find the files she was after: her research. "I did some research into where this clue was found- it was carved inside a hidden compartment in a box that Marlowe used to keep his current works in." She brought up a folder labeled "Marlowe's clue" before spinning her laptop round so Riley could see. "It was discovered in 1978 by a man called… Joey Travers- his family had been looking for the treasure since its creation- he's a descendant of John Travers, who was executed by 'hanging by the neck until dead then disemboweled.' Not a nice way to go…" Riley tried to take in all this information that somehow Melody had managed to explain in less than a minute.

"Let me stop you there…" Riley said slowly. "I think you'd be better off waiting until you meet Ben before getting all historical- he's Mr. History."

"Right. Sorry, just got excited, so when am I meeting Mr. Gates?"

"How does…" Riley's watch ticked. "Half an hour sound?"

"Really? That's great, yeah that's great! I'll just put away my stuff."

"You need a ride or you got a car?"

"I'm pretty much relying on taxis and stuff. You've got a good car I'm guessing…" Riley grinned.

**The Gates Mansion, suppertime.**

Just as Ben placed the last dish onto the table he heard the screeching tires which could only mean one thing. _Riiiiing. Riiiing_. Smiling Ben pulled the phone to his ear.

"Yes?"

"_Hey, Ben. I'm outside, let me in_." At his last word the phone cut out. Rolling his eyes Ben went to open the front door.

"Is there something wrong with the doorbell?" Riley just shrugged and presented a girl standing behind him looking up at the house with awe. She stood on her tip-toes and stared up, one of her hands over her brow the other clinging to a laptop case.

"This is Melody Mizuno." Ben raised his eyebrows at Riley. _A bit young for you isn't she? _Riley just stared back. "And no, she isn't one of my 'special' friends. She's got something that called out for you. Melody?" The girl- Melody- turned to face Ben and giggled nervously.

"Hi, you're Ben Gates… Urm I have this-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Why don't you come inside and have a seat, get comfortable then tell me?" Ben smiled.

"Sure, sorry." She waited for Riley to go inside before following; constantly letting her eyes lick over the glory of this magnificent house- far nicer than her shared loft, not teeming with bugs. At seeing her reaction Riley whispered in her ear.

"Been there, believe me." She smiled and continued to follow Riley into the dining room. Abigail chose to make her appearance just as they got to the table.

"Hi, I'm Abigail Chase. Nice to meet you, I hope the boys haven't bee too rude."

"No, they've been great, urm- Melody. Melody Mizuno. You have a gorgeous home… I can't get over how… is that one of the Terracotta Warriors?" Three heads turned to look out of the window.

"Yes, you like history?"

"Love it. Even more than I like acting. That's actually why I'm here. I have a clue for a treasure in England."

"Treasure?" Ben's ears pricked.

"Yeah, it's the large fortune Mary Queen of Scots hid away, what she was going to give to the conspirators of the Babington Plot once Elizabeth had been taken care of. I have a clue with me, I can't find this treasure on my own."

"I don't know, Ben- another treasure hunt?" Abigail looked to Ben.

"If I may ask, why come to us?"

"Well, from what I can tell, you guys are all about finding stuff for its historical value, yeah? Well there's a family, more specifically a man, who is descended from one of the conspirators- he believes that the fortune is his, but it isn't- it was blood money and likely a large catalogue of historical artifacts too- Shakespeare, Marlowe, hell, even Blackadder probably helped to hide this treasure, and likely contributed to it too."

"Blackadder?" Ben questioned.

"Sorry, television show…"

"So, you want to restore the treasure? How did you find out about it, why do you care about it?"

"The only thing that kept me going growing up was this treasure. My mom told me about it when I was like eight and I guess it's just…important to me."

Ben gave Abigail a sideways glance, and at the small nod she gave him smiled.

"Well, we better look at this clue."

**- -later- -**

"So we're pretty certain that Titania is Elizabeth the First… but this first part… '_Brand on the skin of the dragon, Round and (delicate/sought after)_' maybe if we focus on what the dragon is… some sort of National landmark, artifact, person-"

"Person? Hang on…" Melody clicked away at her laptop. Reading off her screen she laughed. "Francis Drake! Listen to this: 'He was known as 'El Draque' derived from the Latin 'draco' meaning serpent/dragon'. Think this is our guy?" Ben smiled at her.

"Could be. Anything about a skin?"

"Wait… I remember something…" Riley rolled his eyes. _'Great, another one…' _"It's a drum. Drake's drum! _'skin of the dragon, round and delicate'_, it's a drum!"

"So the brand –"

"Is his coat of arms! I remember seeing it on a holiday in Devon! Let me find something on it…" Riley had by this point vacated the sofa he had reclined on and was now peering over Melody's shoulder as she typed away. "it's currently located in the Drake, Naval and West Country Folk Museum at Buckland Abbey in Devon." She looked up at Ben and Riley.

"You up for going back to England?" Ben looked at Riley.

"You sure they'll let us back in?" Riley smirked back.

* * *

please hit the review button!!! All suggestions for clues are welcomed with open snatchy arms. :D 


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